London, England -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/09/2012 -- Recently published data suggests that people seeking counselling for common mental health problems are more likely to recover if they pay to go privately. Statistics published by The British CBT & Counselling Service show an 85% recovery rate amongst their patients compared to an average recovery rate of less than 50% amongst patients receiving similar treatment in the NHS for conditions such as Depression, Anxiety, Eating Disorders, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Grief and Relationship Problems. The reason for this significant difference in success rates is likely to be funding which is impacting once again on the NHS’s ability to provide what is the nation needs.

As recommended by the government body NICE, the treatment of choice for the majority of mental health problem is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), however although the government has spent £103 million on improving the availability of CBT and has ear marked a further £70 million bringing the total to £173 million, this is only enough to help 3 of the 6 million people who are currently thought to suffer from mental health problems. This means that waiting lists for CBT in the NHS are often in excess of 12 months, the result of which being that by the time patient receive treatment their health has deteriorated and their problem are much more serious and so harder to resolve.

In addition the lack of funding in the NHS has led to restrictions on employment so that only junior practitioners can be employed to offer these treatments, resulting in the less than desirable scenario where the most severe cases are being treated by the least experienced practitioners.

Funding restrictions also mean that the length of CBT programmes are affected so instead of the severity and chronicity of the patient’s problem being the determining factor in how many session they receive, the NHS purse decides. As a result treatment programmes are often manualised or ‘off the shelf’ leading to a generalised approach that pigeon holes patients and ignores important individual variations.

About The British CBT & Counselling Service
The British CBT & Counselling Service is a private sector team of Doctors of Clinical and Counselling Psychologists with between 7-9 years of training and a minimum of 3 years post qualification experience who specialise in CBT for adults and children with a range of mental health problems including anxiety, depression, eating disorders, OCD, PTSD, grief, relationship problems. Treatments incorporate the latest techniques, are individually tailored to patients needs and guarantee lasting results. Appointments are available immediately in clinics across the country; Richmond, Clapham, Fulham, Earls Court, Stamford and Nottingham.

If you would like more information on this topic please visit http://www.thebritishcbtcounsellingservice.co.uk